Popular wisdom has it that any film containing Emma Thompson must be irreproachably classy. Hmm – ever see her opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in pregnant-man comedy Junior? The Love Punch is a grisly romcom caper about a divorced English couple who recapture their spark when they try to steal a diamond from the financier who robbed them. Directed by Joel Hopkins with what you can only call "le Michael Winner touch", this comedy is set in France, where everyone is either dastardly, cartoonish or ever so ooh-la-la. Brosnan mocks himself affably (yes, again), Thompson shoots him "oh-you're-incorrigible" looks, and the whole thing is middle-aged, middle-class and middle-budget, like a big-screen episode of Terry and June. Utterly joyless – although you can somehow imagine Nigel Farage enjoying it immensely.
The Love Punch review – ‘utterly joyless’ romcom
Emma Thompson's middlebrow new romcom would be ideal for Nigel Farage, writes Jonathan Romney